Elisabeth Hasselbeck to Take Her Leave of The View

For long-running talk show The View, the last year has seen an awful lot of moving in and out of its co-hosts. First, Meredith Vieira exited to take over hosting duties on Today. Then Star Jones left after her contract wasn’t renewed, and also because the woman hired to replace Meredith, comic Rosie O’Donnell, had feuded publicly with Star. Of course, Rosie’s tenure on the hit show would be both controversial and brief, as she left after less than a year, citing problems with the show’s lone conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. And now it’s time for Elisabeth to say goodbye — at least for a little while.

The 30-year-old co-host is expecting her second child with hubby, former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, later this year and will be going on maternity leave beginning either Nov. 8 or Nov. 9. However, the online rumor mill has gone into overdrive recently with claims that either Elisabeth will not return from maternity leave or the show will quietly ask her to not return.

“That’s the talk around the set,” one show insider tells OK!. “But that’s been the talk for years, that Elisabeth is always on the verge of getting fired. So who knows?”